Ontonagon County Fair offers fun for all ages

By P.J. GLISSON

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GREENLAND - Fine weather favored a great outcome for the Ontonagon County Fair, which celebrated its 50th anniversary at its Greenland location over the weekend.

Saturday was the main day, and it was bustling with people enjoying activities from one end of the grounds to the other.

One consistently popular choice was a ride led by Tim Duncan, who was hauling children in colorful, kid-sized carts that were attached to his tractor in a train-like fashion.

Another entertaining event was a ninja competition that required participants to make their way through an outdoor obstacle course while being timed. Two sets of Mass City twins - Kara and Kaisa Sadlier, 8, and Sophia and Prestan Amsler, 9 - were among the avid competitors.

Kids also took joy in fishing in a trout pond, courtesy of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, often with older family members providing moral support and guidance.

One of the most unique aspects of the fair was a cattle-sorting competition, which required participants to separate specifically numbered calves from a running group of cattle.

The numbers were visible on the calves' collar bands, and competitors not only had to separate the correct calves, but also move them in the properly designated order - all under the pressure of being timed.

Players typically undertook the challenge in pairs, with one of them attempting to separate one calf at a time within an interior pen while his or her partner guarded the entry of the adjacent pen into which the targeted calf was herded.

Willow Younggren, 14 of Kalkaska, Michigan, was one of the younger participants waiting for her turn. She said her horse, Moon, is 26 but still has a great spirit for competition. "They love it," she said of the horses' roles in general.

Rose Younggren and her husband, Dan, of Covington, Michigan, were in charge of the event with help from Neill Wascher of Mass City and Norm Johnson of Ontonagon.

"There was some high-end competition," said Wascher, who participated himself with his horse, Buttons.

Wascher, by phone on Sunday, said some participants travel across the country to compete in such events.

Tom and Tracy Dykstra of Moraine Park Farms of Zeeland, Michigan, provided cattle for the event.

A petting zoo filled with lively goats of various ages also was available, courtesy of Palenske Homestead & Livestock, LLC of Ontonagon.

Among animals on display inside a nearby barn were a couple of alpacas from Fox Road Farm in Ontonagon. Joan Ruchti of Ontonagon was admiring them with her grandchildren, Temperance, 6, and Persis, 5.

Another creative feature was offered by Don Mulder of Harrison, Michigan, who was carving wooden animals on the fairgrounds.

"My father-in-law showed me how to do a small standing bear and a small sitting bear," he said of two of the animal shapes he had on display.

He said he then practiced on his own to expand his repertoire to birds and other items.

Within the Ontonagon County 4-H Clubs building, women were painting inside under the instruction of Gale Kocher of Mass City. "It's fun," said Linda Koski of Ontonagon.

Also featured was an antique tractor show.

The fair exhibition building displayed various baked goods, vegetables and flowers, plus a variety of sewing and art projects.

Cotton candy and other treats were available for sale, along with snow cones and Indian tacos. The Ontonagon Lions Club also offered breakfast and later concessions.

Still expected later on Saturday afternoon were a livestock show, mock rodeo, coin scramble, music by Kenny Lee, and a cake to commemorate the fair's anniversary.

On Friday evening, fair entries were registered, and on Sunday morning, a horse speed show and tractor pull were scheduled.